Hacker News

A spokesperson for Meta said in a statement the company is “disappointed” and insists its method “complies with privacy laws and regulations in Brazil.”

Yeah, just like my cat complies with the policy of leaving my furniture alone. You aren't fooling anyone, Meta.

“This is a step backwards for innovation, competition in AI development and further delays bringing the benefits of AI to people in Brazil,” the spokesperson added.

Cut off the bullshit. Only Meta itself will reap the benefits of this sort of rubbish.

The relevant organ behind this decision mentioned in the article in the OP is the ANPD (Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados, "National Authority of Data Protection").

Additionally, the Senacon (Secretaria Nacional do Consumidor, roughly "Customers' National Secretary") is also going after Meta and demanding it to clarify:

• their usage of customer data to train AI;
• the purpose of the above;
• its impact on customers;
• the data usage information policy being adopted;
• [which, if they exist] support channels that allow customers to exercise their rights [in this regard]

I think that this is actually a bigger deal than what the ANPD did. It basically means that the customer's protection entities in Brazil aren't really buying Meta's bullshit about "chrust us we have legitimare inrurrest".

Source, in Portuguese.

Another relevant tidbit is that, when it comes to privacy, data, and internet, Brazilian organs' typical modus operandi is "copypaste what's being done in Europe". And lots of European governments "happen" to be rather pissed at those megacorps.

Perhaps now I can convince my relatives to use Matrix instead of that disgusting shit called ~~zapzap~~ WhatsApp.